samsung’s-galaxy-smarttag-plus-with-uwb-to-track-items-with-ar-is-out-april-16th

Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag Plus with UWB to track items with AR is out April 16th

Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag Plus, the souped-up version of the company’s Tile-like SmartTag Bluetooth tracker (which was released earlier this year), now has a release date: it’ll be out on April 16th for $39.99.

That’s a $10 price increase over the standard SmartTag, which runs for $29.99 — but the SmartTag Plus has one notable improvement. It features an ultra-wideband (UWB) radio, allowing users to track it more accurately when it’s nearby than the standard Bluetooth setup. The UWB radio actually enables a new AR mode, which can help show users exactly where their missing tag is.

To use the new UWB mode, you’ll need both a Galaxy SmartTag Plus and a compatible UWB-equipped Galaxy phone, a list that currently includes the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Galaxy S21 Plus, Galaxy S21 Ultra, and the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

Aside from the fancy new UWB features, though, the SmartTag Plus still works just like the regular SmartTag, leveraging Samsung’s vast Bluetooth network of Galaxy devices to help track missing objects. It’s similar to Apple’s Find My network, which uses iPhones and iPads to create a Bluetooth network (and, thanks to a recent expansion to third-party devices, will soon offer a Find My-compatible tracker from Chipolo).

The upcoming release of the Galaxy SmartTag Plus means that Samsung — and not Apple’s long-rumored AirTags — will be the first major AR-compatible UWB tracking accessory to hit the market. Apple has been reportedly working on a similar UWB-based AR feature for its upcoming tracker, but despite plenty of leaks and rumors, there’s still no word on a release date.

intel-advertises-tiger-lake-processor-with-stock-photo-of-a-macbook-pro

Intel Advertises Tiger Lake Processor with Stock Photo of a MacBook Pro

(Image credit: Apple – B&H Photo)

Intel’s marketing snafus are the gifts that keep on giving. iThinkDifferent reported Wednesday that the company has started advertising “the world’s best processor,” by which it means the Core i7-1185G7, in “a thin and light laptop.” The only problem is that the ad features a MacBook Pro, which doesn’t come with an 11th Gen Core processor.

(Image credit: ChromiumMoon / Intel / Reddit)

Reddit user “ChromiumMoon” shared a picture of the ad in question to the /r/Mac subreddit on Wednesday. Other commentators were quick to point out that the photo also shows an iPhone next to the MacBook Pro, and that the person using the laptop is wearing Beats headphones, so the entire image is filled with Apple products. It is in fact a Getty Images stock photo that also features a Magic Mouse in the uncropped version.

It is unlikely that Apple will be releasing a MacBook Pro with the Core i7-1185G7 in it, because the 13-inch MacBook Pro was one of the first Macs to switch over to Apple’s custom silicon when the M1 chip debuted in November 2020.

It’s not impossible — Apple still offers the MacBook Pro 16″ with Intel processors, and if the company doesn’t have a chip with support for more than just two Thunderbolt 4 ports ready, it could use an 11th Gen Core processor while it works on the M1’s successor.

Two people who regularly predict Apple’s plans, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, have both said the company is looking to release a redesigned MacBook Pro lineup this year. Gurman specifically described them as “Apple’s first high-end laptops to move away from Intel Corp. components.”

So someone at Intel simply grabbed a stock image, slapped the promotional text over it, and sent it off to appear in the company’s marketing without realizing the laptop in the image had nothing to do with their product.

Normally that kind of mistake would hardly be worth mentioning. But it takes on a new light given that Intel has recently used some less-than-honest benchmarks to criticize the M1, extolled the virtues of PCs on social media, and hired Justin Long to go from saying “I’m a Mac” to saying “I’m a Justin” in a series of promotional videos.